yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] pborg:
(sorry for my not-perfect english, again)

Did you know some providers, provide free call services in exchange to 'audible ads' during the call !? It has been years this system already exists...

"People" will chose the lower cost(or free) plan in priority...and they're ready to accept this...no matter of the "private data" collected on them, and used to "match" those people with the ad...

(Imagine "John" architect and his friend "Frank" familial doctor... on their daily uses of computer they browse architech/medecinal stuff on the internet, and both, sometimes tennis news... When they call each-other, the provider match the common interest between those 2 friends, and "play" an audible ad of a discount on tennis ball...and so on...)

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...let's say global consciousness !? time to wake up bro...

Wow could you provide us with more details about drones, as ...names/links ?

...Phones, cars, net, ... SOON AVAILABLE IN THE STORE : food/drugs.

And recently, like...recently, it's OFFICIAL, and PUBLIC, it has been voted in your country :

digitaljournal.com/article/295320

FBI "can" (they, and others, did that for years apparently ?? the echelon project ?) have your mail account in front of them, officially read the object/recipients/datetime of any mail...

In other countries, similar things are happening right now...sometimes "lighter", sometimes even worst !

I wish this can effectively provides what it is for, "security" for the state and for people...nothing more/less... (Am I wrong ?)

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NWO ?! people talk about that ? I mean...governments are creating a new one... so governements are talking about this, openly...

I won't say "are you blind?"..., but "are you in DENY?" (For me it means, "Even with your 'president' saying those words, and others 'presidents', 'kings/queens',... talking about this... you still don't SEE it !? is it too big for you ?

I mean...NWO could be as much a positive thing than a negative...

The question now, I think is not about "how", but "WHEN".

WTC to IT world ? I don't know but you can separate the two affairs, the IT one is really there...read the link given above and do more research...I won't open your eyes, you're the only one who can do that...

And the other 25% ? Only one app on your.... 30 apps...on your 100apps,on your "N" apps is enough :) think about it...

Even the legal apps, with "legits" ADDS can collect and establish the profile of the entity "human" somehow... with new IT and BI you can go very far into fiction...or...reality.

I definitively agree with that :) !

But If I want, let's say... a video game where you can use your geographic position in real time to "fight/chat/and so on" with other people... FINE you have to provide those "private data" to the game, your choice ! But IF they keep it, share it... it should be their role to inform you about that ! And ...your final choice to accept or not... the transparency...
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] otester:
Google has removed software before, so is the only way to be safe to compile your own copy?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/projectfailures/android-kill-switch-is-google-evil/1078

Looks like you need to remove the Android Market app to get rid of it, whether this requires editing the source code or just a straight forward removal I don't know.

This is all making me glad I picked a HD2, even if I miss Flash 10 :(
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] miki4242:
Well, I have read most (but not all) of this thread and want to put in a quick reply 'cause I need to get some sleep.

What I'm missing among all this talk about Google firmware and privacy is the simple fact that it's not all Google firmware.

Many seem to be missing the point that it is a mobile phone or other network enabled device that most of them are using (non-connected tablet users can stop reading).

Which means (in the current situation): closed source, propriatary, binary blob drivers.

So as much as the devs hacking away at Android and pushing their lovely source into the tree, you never know (or can get to know, legally) what the latest librilXXX.so or A-GPS daemon or what not is pushing down the intertubes.

Worse yet, did you know that some parts of the GSM 'radio' firmware (I have seen this for A-GPS stuff) communicate entirely hidden from the normal Linux networking stack? They neatly insert into and delete packets from the data stream sent up to Linux without anything on the Linux side ever being able to notice.

Don't believe me? Have a look at the binary side of things. Dont trust just the source. Sadly.

Another nice Google tip: search for 'CALEA', and remember: If the Feds know how, the crooks do, too.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Brut.all:
Yeah and this is good for me. It would be fantastic to see/hear ads about e.g. Android phones instead of penis enlargement.

And I don't see, how hearing ads would collect some private data on me, so I really don't understand, why not to get such plan. Actually I think ads are good even for customers, because they could reduce their costs. Especially if they have a choice.

I ain't say 25% is a little. I say that article is total bull**** and some people rely on the data from it without even thinking about it.

Which link? All of posted in this thread? As you can see above, there may be a lot of bull**** in these arts and I don't have the time to check, whether "facts" from them are really facts or just paranoic visions of their authors.

I like facts. Real facts. Like that Android apps are easy to reverse engineer, many people look into a code of them and there was just a few "affairs" so far.

About my own research? I'm a developer and I'm working on some background stuff for Android, so I do my research on day-to-day basis.

I have never seen my president talking about NWO.

I have compared this to NWO, because it's about the same thing. NWO, "everyone wanna steal my privacy" or Jehovah's Witnesses... "we saw the truth and you can't have different point of view, cause there are facts against it" - then they show false data or some misinterpretation of true data. Like that "almost half of Android apps" above.

BTW You won't say "are you blind?", but "wake up" or "open your eyes" ;-)

There are 100 times more information about me in my posts, comments, projects, etc. And adds won't kill my cat, so... no problem for me, really.

We live in really weird times: some people are terrified that someone will know something about them, but on the other hand there are a lot of "privacy exhibitionists" who write everything about them on their blogs, Facebook, they upload videos about them to the YouTube, etc. ;-)

Of course they should inform you about that. But it's technically impossible to enforce this, so this problem isn't connected to Android security - this is a problem of modern life.

If you have a root, you could remove Market in just few minutes.

Yeah, but these drivers don't have access to upper levels of a system, like your data, etc.

Did you know that your GPS doesn't send hidden data, cause it just can't send anything? GPS is a passive system.

And actually you could look into telecom billings to see, whether your phone was sending some data somewhere. My ADP1 don't do that.

Any source? I assume that you looked at the binary side of things, so you could share your knowledge and show me these bits?
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] otester:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc7i0wCFf8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bKwH3kJew4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Quantumstate:
This remark shows that you are just being argumentative, Brut.all.

Of course GPS in complete isolation doesn't send any information... but the information it develops is in fact sent out by the G**gle nav app so G**gle maps can tell where you are and where you are going.

I call bull****. You intentionally blank out 80% of the reality, to try and disingenuously bolster your extremely skewed and artificial point of view.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Brut.all:
You didn't read post that I commented, do you?

miki4242 said something totally different than you.

What reality? That 50% of apps steal your data even if there aren't so many apps with internet access and other "stealing" permissions? Even if there are just few reports of malicious apps after 2.5 years of Android life? Even if my phone doesn't do any network communication if I disable sync, etc. (some time ago I was on roaming for 3 days, later I have checked my billings and there was no traffic when I didn't use data by myself)?

I base my opinions on facts like above, you base yours on your fears, fears of people similar to you and on arts written by people who look for sensation - as journalists always do. I use arguments and you use phrases like "your extremely skewed and artificial point of view". Is this all you have to say?
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Janis:
Anyone here using Facebook?
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] pborg:
People have the right to fear when they feel something, and when they see **** happening !?

nytimes.com/2010/08/05/technology/05secret.html?_r=4&partner=rss&emc=rss
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] otester:
Requires login.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] pulser_g2:
If you're interested in this, use apktool (thx to brut.all :)) and have a look inside some of the google apks, like Vending.apk and the gtalk apk.

All the phone home activity that I'm aware of takes place in these two APKs. Market uses a phone home to actually install apps, as they are pushed to your phone via gtalk service. Similarly, if google decide to remove an app via the kill switch, they will use this something via the market and gtalk service (IIRC).

It's been a while since I looked at this, but I'm pretty sure those are the two main apks you can look at for this.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] otester:
So can Google kill apps that aren't installed via the official market?
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] pulser_g2:
Not that I'm aware of, as the kill method uses the android market link to identify it IIRC.

They certainly claim not to be able to, and I don't think this method can remove non-market apps.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Brut.all:
Of course they have right to fear, ask on forums, search for information and do some research. But telling other people that they are blind and have "extremely skewed and artificial point of view" if you don't have any proofs, just guesses, is rude.

And this will be even worse for you :-)

http://d.android.com/guide/publishing/licensing.html

It will send this data to Google servers. Soon in Android Market! ;-)

Technically this should be possible, but I don't think Market even look at apps, that aren't registered to it. It doesn't notify you about updates, etc.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] otester:
This is what I liked about Windows Mobile, the ability to add bad IP's to the host file.

I feel more free in WM than in Android :(
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] GinoAMelone:
You do realize that the hosts file on Windows is a port of the UNIX hosts file mechanism that dates back to, I think, the 70's and that Linux (and thus Android) continues to use.

My G1 (CM6) has an /etc/hosts files just like I'd expect. Of course, you need root to edit it. But then, this is a good thing. It prevents an app from maliciously hijacking your hosts file.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] otester:
I'm not bashing UNIX, I like Android (+Ubuntu) but I couldn't live without both on my handset (I'm a HD2 multi-booter).

Glad to know that it's also available on UNIX as well :)
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Deliamber:
This seems an incorrect description of public key (asymmetric) cryptography, both what it does and how it works, at least as I understand it.

With public key cryptography a pair of keys is generated. Data encrypted with one key can

only

be decrypted with the other, and vice versa. You keep one key private so only you can use it, and the other is the public key which you distribute widely.

For secure data transmission to you, a sender encrypts something with your public key, and only your private key can decrypt it.

For authentication (digital signatures) the scheme is used the other way around. You use your private key to generate digital signatures from data you want to send out to others and prove that it came from you. Then anyone else can use your public key to decrypt and verify the signature on the file or message. Since you're the only one with the private key, it verifies you as the sender.

For securing data in the cloud this wouldn't really make sense. I suppose you could encrypt data on your computer with your public key first before sending it, then decrypt it with your private key after retrieving it. But that just seems unecessarily complex. More straightforward and efficient would be to just build strong symmetric (single key) encryption into the client software and construct it so your data is seamlessly encrypted and decrypted on the fly, before it's ever sent out to the remote data storage service. Have the program generate the key from random data when you set it up, similar to TrueCrypt, and it need never leave your control. Only encrypted data would be transmitted to/from the cloud storage.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] pborg:
...

androidguys.com/2010/08/20/snakes-phone/

this one in many "news" I saw those days....

"one in many" !!

Still not concerned !?
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Lem0nHead:
I think there's a valid concern here, which I also share.

I'm really not that worried that android is sending information "behind my back" to google... that would hurt them too much to even consider doing that

what really worries me is the information that I "accept" to send

for instance, I'd like to sync my contacts/calendar locally, just with my PC (or maybe with a server of my own)

I couldn't find any apps to do that

also, it seems Google is putting no effort on things that would be very useful for users (but not commercially good for google):

1) why not use local encryption for out data? (contacts and calendar specially... E-mails doesn't make much sense because it runs thru google's MTA)

LastPass shows this concept is very possible

2) cellphones can be easily stolen

and what the criminal will find? all your contacts, photos, browser history, etc...

why isn't there an easy way to encrypt the whole "partition"? sort of what truecrypt does

it would require a password only when booting, that would be stored on memory

there's still a vulnerability thought... if the cellphone is stolen turned on (most likely), the password is in the memory

there should be a password for the "lockscreen" (preferrably one that would make the user wait 1, 3, 5, 10, 10, 10s, etc for each wrong password)

the only way he/she would be able to access the data them would be to tamper on the memory somehow

PS: to be honest, the second option wouldn't hurt google... I'd guess they just didn't do it yet because it's not technically easy and they have other things more attractive to most users to improve
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] ¿GotJazz?:
@quantumstate - You need to delete your gmail account (and Facebook, Twitter, etc.) from your Android phone. After that, follow the standard internet activity rule: "Never do anything on the internet that you wouldn't do if your grandmother was looking over your shoulder."

That should solve the bulk of your security concern problems.

If you follow the above suggestions, Google may have anonymous browsing information attached (very) loosely to your phone number, but it wouldn't be anything to be concerned about - since you followed the second suggestion.

Google makes (a $hitload of) money by targeting ads to you that they think you'll click on. Their free Android platform aids them towards that goal. Why can't it be as simple as good 'ol greed and capitalism that drives their business model, instead of some more nefarious reasons? All the major search engines follow similar tracking technologies to try and target ads your way.

I saw an interview a while back of a Google V.P., and he put it pretty simply when asked about the supposed Google data trail issue: The day that people seriously think that Google

might

be giving personal information to the government (or selling to other companies) is the last day that Google will be the planet's #1 search engine. People will leave Google for other search providers so fast, Google will never recover.

Google has to protect/encrypt/anonymize the data to ensure their success as a business. I would trust Google a heck of a lot more with my anonymized data than I would Microsoft or Yahoo.

If you are still really that concerned that Google might someday sell/provide your personal browsing history to some other entity, you should get rid of your smartphone and go back to a good, ol' standard cell phone. Seriously.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] SilentMobius:
So, I do think the OP is paranoid (and poorly/incorrectly informed) but I do believe they raise an interesting question. That is:

"Can you run Android without sending information to a 3rd party corp"

The answer to that is no, the cellphone company will be able to read your data and which tower you connect to. So how about:

"Can you run Android without sending information to anyone other than my cellphone provider"

Yes, run a pure AOSP rom and don't enter a Google account. You lose Market, Gmail, Calendar, Maps, GoogleTalk, youtube, etc. Also rendering you immune to the Google auto-uninstall (as that only applies to market downloaded apps and this feature is contained within the market app)

Next, never install any app that has any of the following permissions.

CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE

BLUETOOTH_ADMIN

CALL_PHONE

CALL_PRIVILEGED

CHANGE_WIFI_STATE

CONTROL_LOCATION_UPDATES

INTERNET

INSTALL_PACKAGES

SEND_SMS

WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

WRITE_SETTINGS

WRITE_SMS

WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS

WRITE_GSERVICES

Nor anything that requests root access. This will prevent any app that can collect data from ever sending it anywhere.

Finally double check that you're not using Google's DNS (I _think_ that's on by default) and use your cellphone provider's DNS instead.

However given that you have no reason to take my word for it, you would need to audit the source yourself, but I am comfortable with my assessment.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] LiquidSolstice:
Then get a feature phone.
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] larryccf:
quantumstate - i guess you didn't get the memo - privacy concerns are so "yesterday"

i agree with you but it's incredibly lost value in the current generation's mindset -

one option i've considered is going to a nokia N8 - uses their own OS, self contained maps, and nokia is not in the info gathering business nor in bed with the gov't on information assembling projects - it's about to be released and i'm waiting to see what users report about problems, issues etc before jumping on
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Brut.all:
Until you will find out that they are ;-)
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] pborg:
Good idea !

This could be a really good thing, protecting end users. And make people even more "in trust" with google.

Like Blackberry do ?(I'm not into BB at all) but a friend told me abit about the mechanism : all data is encrypted. if you found a BB you can't read data in it, except if you "log in" and it's decrypt-it on the fly. Truecrypt like ?
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Snow_fox:
Or shut it down remotely while your on interstate.

[/quote]

SIC SEMPER TYRANNUS
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Snow_fox:
You also don't seem to realise that these are phones.

If you get a quad core 3.2 ghz with 4 gigs of ram computer and bog it down with spyware.. its gunna move slow as dirt..

If there were really *that* many programs sending date/using processing power to fix gps locations, and send information out there wouldn't be much left to run th e phone with after all those resources are used up.

*edit*

Also not to question the credibility of those "test" however, how can we be sure they programmed the device properly? did they monitor just when data is sent? did they monitor when a program accesses data? did they monitor when a program accessed *and* sent data. All of these could easily create false positives.

Also it disgust me you don't want your device sending back information to help that cause when *infact* that is the only way to make it better.. Without providing some idea of what they are up against they can't create protection :/
[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] Puenos:
Holy crap!

At first I thought I'm reading the plot to "Terminator"..

"The Machine".. good guys.. bad guys.. big brother watching you..

Sry, no offense, but to me.. this sounds more like some old guy getting his midlife-crisis trying to accomplish something great because he knows he got in age.. :/

Really.. I don't get it.. Why do I trade my freedom, because they got some information? Like everyone else said.. it's not like you have to give certain informations out by yourself.. if you simply don't know how to restrict the flow of informations.. it's no others but your fault..

And what's so bad about Google collecting informations? After all it's, like you said, their business.. collecting information. Idk if selling those informations also does count to their business.. but that's something I doubt.. and even if.. heck.. who cares? Do you drive a car? You know you have to register your car? Do you life in a flat/house/apartment/whatever? Did you register your adress to some "Ronald McDonald" or what?

If you so do not like to be part of this social environment.. why not declare yourself a marsian and climb the Himalaya and live there as a hermit from nature?

But oh noes.. you cannot do that.. because we already would know by now where you were!

..oh.. another thing.. you really believe you cannot be traced down from your Account on this site?.. Ah.. I see.. your ISP also just knows you as "Mickey Mouse".. and when ppl come visiting you or you have to go to hospital you wear some weird Jigsaw-mask?

Honestly.. I could continue writing here for so long..but just thinking of where to start next is really bothering me :/

Well.. at least you do not have to accept the cookies they're reaching you by any means! As we all know the cookies are from the dark side of force.. and they're the bad guys, ya know?

Sry if I offended anyone here.. but just reading various postings from the thread starter made me feel more than just offended myself.. even if not specified by yourself (@ thread starter..), you declared anyone who does not side with your opinion a fool.. that's way too much arrogance.. even for myself..